Research

As a global leader in research with impact, our work helps to shape policy and decision-making at a government and community level to bring positive changes to people’s lives.

In the latest Research Excellence Framework, the University's global reputation as a world-leading provider of health research with real-world impact was driven home with 91% of our related research formally classified as world-leading or internationally excellent.

The proportion of the University's research overall that is considered to be world-leading or internationally excellent was 72%, a figure unsurpassed by any other Scottish modern university.

Here are just some of the many examples:

A study undertaken by the University has produced the first national assessment of pharmaceutical pollution in Scotland’s water environment.

Medicines enter the water environment when people taking them go to the toilet and when partially used or expired medicines are inappropriately flushed down the toilet. The results will help to address the issue of pharmaceutical pollution and the impact this has on our health and the natural environment.

Elsewhere, thanks to funding from Data Lab and the William Quarrier Epilepsy Centre, Professor Hadi Larijani and his team embarked on developing software that could ‘transform’ the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy and give clinicians an all-important warning ahead of an epileptic seizure.

Professor Larijani said: “Epilepsy diagnosis is a very time-consuming task. We are developing a tool that could help concurrently monitor every patient in the centre, to improve both the quality and efficiency of diagnosis and trigger an alert for patients experiencing a seizure. This approach could help transform the diagnosis and treatment of patients in Scotland and beyond.”

Research by the University on the impact of climate change on women in Malawi found that 86 per cent of respondents said their mental health and wellbeing had been affected by climate change.

Malawi is highly vulnerable to climate change and increasingly erratic and unpredictable weather is causing major food shortages, loss of livelihoods and displacement − pushing some of the world’s poorest people further into poverty.

Professor Tahseen Jafry said: “Our findings are harrowing and provide clear evidence that climate change can greatly contribute to poor mental health and violence, especially among vulnerable groups such as women. It is of paramount importance that solutions to tackle climate change are people centred.”

Following an in-depth study by the University and Edinburgh Napier University, Police Scotland committed to a national roll-out of drug overdose emergency treatment.

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone announced that all operational officers in Police Scotland will be trained and equipped with the life-saving nasal spray naloxone, which can be given safely to people who have suffered a drug overdose.

Reporting on the findings, Dr Andrew McAuley, a Senior Research Fellow, said: “Naloxone is an important tool in tackling Scotland’s drug-related deaths crisis, by providing immediate first aid while waiting for healthcare professionals to take over.”

The University called for urgent action to help address the growing mental health crisis among gay and bisexual men in Scotland following a new study. It showed that depression among gay and bisexual men in Scotland was 44% higher than among men in the wider population and anxiety was 26% higher during COVID-19.

It concluded the rise was fuelled by mental-health inequalities, stigma, negative social attitudes, and stresses such as returning home to live with parents during lockdown.

Our health research also found that people from deprived areas can cut their risk of developing chronic life-shortening diseases by up to 15% and lower their risk of diabetes by 12% if they live within 700m of a well-developed canal.

Dr Zoë Tieges said: “Exposure to blue infrastructures, such as canals, was associated with a lower risk for non-communicable diseases in the most deprived areas."

The University joined forces with Queen’s University Belfast, Bournemouth University, and the University of East London to work on the UK’s largest study into the public health impact of community-led initiatives, such as walking groups, cookery lessons, language classes, community gardens and cafes.

Professor Rachel Baker said: “This research will help to focus attention on the importance of community-led initiatives for people’s wellbeing, especially as we recover from the pandemic and build resilience for future challenges.”

Findings from a recent study by the University showed that despite new powers designed to protect victims, domestic abusers remain ‘empowered’ within the Scottish criminal justice system.

It found that survivors felt alienated and excluded from the justice process, regardless of measures introduced under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018. The evidence also suggests that perpetrators were able to continue the abuse and often were able to manipulate criminal justice procedures to extend their abuse.

Dr Nancy Lombard explained: “Perpetrators are finding ways of continuing their abuse through loopholes, or in open defiance of any restrictions placed on them, with little or no repercussions. More needs to be done to prevent this.”

Scotland's first social supermarket opened in Glasgow after our research revealed only a fraction of those most in need use food banks. 

The new store, run by the charity Good Food Scotland, offers heavily discounted food, a cafe, and community facilities in Nitshill, in the southside of Glasgow. 

The University found that although 37% of local residents were concerned about running out of food, only 8% had ever used a food bank.

Professor John McKendrick, who led the study, said: “Social supermarkets are more commonplace in continental Europe and constitute a novel approach to tackling food insecurity.”